[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 118 (Tuesday, September 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8942-S8943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL TESTING
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I understand we are not yet on the
appropriations bill today. It has not been formally called up. We have
a number of issues in the appropriations bill that is now before the
Senate, and I know the majority leader and others would like to
complete it soon. I want to describe one of them that I think is very
important that I hope will get resolved today. That is the issue that
was raised last week on the subject of national testing with respect to
achievement levels at various grades in our schools.
President Clinton has suggested, and others have called for some kind
of national testing system by which we can evaluate at the fourth grade
level whether children are able to read sufficiently and at the eighth
grade level whether they have sufficient capabilities in mathematics,
because those are the benchmarks in the education system that allow you
to proceed and succeed. If you are not able to read sufficiently in
fourth grade, you are not going to do well beyond that. If you don't
have a basic grasp of the concept of mathematics by the eighth grade,
you are not going to do well beyond that. The question is, What are we
getting for our education dollars? We spend a substantial amount of
money in this country on elementary and secondary education. What are
we getting for it?
The proposal is a proposal that says, let us measure that, let us
evaluate that, student to student, school to
[[Page S8943]]
school, State to State, so that we know what we are getting out of our
education system. There isn't a more important subject, in my judgment,
for this country's future than the subject of education. Is our
education system a good one? Does it work? Does it prepare our country
for the future?
Benjamin Franklin once said that if you invest your purse in your
head, no one will ever take your purse from you. His point was that, if
you invest in education, nobody can ever take from you what you have
achieved yourself. That is a very important point. That is why it is so
important for our country to make sure that we have an education system
that works.
Although reading is the foundation for virtually all other learning
in our country, it is estimated that 40 percent of America's fourth
graders cannot read at a basic level. Likewise, nearly 40 percent of
eighth graders in our country are not achieving at a basic level, and
76 percent are not achieving at a proficient level. According to a
recently released Third International Math and Science Study, 55
percent of U.S. eighth graders score below the international average in
math.
Now, the point about national testing is not to suggest in any way
that the Federal Government try to run the local school systems. School
systems ought to be run locally. They are now and they will be in the
future. But we ought to give parents information about how their
students and schools in our States are doing, comparing them student to
student and school to school and State to State. We simply don't have
that capability. Providing parents with that information, through a
national testing program, will be an important step in trying to
evaluate where we are in the educational system and then what we need
to do to strengthen and improve it.
Again, this is a proposal that says, let us try to evaluate across
this country how our children are doing in reading at the fourth grade
level and how our children are doing in mathematics at the eighth grade
level. Giving parents that information will be enormously beneficial. I
have two children in public schools this morning. They are the most
wonderful young children that live in this country--as all parents feel
about their children. I want them to have the finest education
available to them. They are in public school. I like their teachers, I
respect their school. But I happen to believe that, to the extent that
we can improve this country's educational system, we will do that if we
arm parents with more and more information about how the system does,
how the schools are doing, how the teachers are doing, and how our
students are doing.
There are three things that will work to improve education in this
country, and all three are necessary in order for the educational
system to work well. First is a student that is willing to learn. Secod
is a teacher that knows how to teach. And third is a parent that is
involved in their student's education. The failure to have any one of
the three means we don't do nearly as well as we can.
Now, the proposal for a national testing program has substantial
support. Polls have shown that 77 percent of the American people
support national standards for measuring the academic performance of
schools. It has substantial support from leaders all across this
country, national business leaders like the National Chamber of
Commerce, the Business Roundtable, the National Alliance of Business,
and it is clear to them that our ability to succeed in the long term
and compete in the long term with other countries rests in our ability
to provide an educational system that educates our children
sufficiently so that we do succeed and prevail.
Here is the testimony from the business leaders in America. Let me
read a couple of the pieces of testimony. This is Jim Barksdale, the
CEO of Netscape Communications, and L. John Doerr, a partner in the
firm of Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield & Byers, on behalf of 240
technology industry leaders in a bipartisan call for national education
standards in reading and math:
Every State should adopt high national standards, and by
1999, every State should test every fourth grader in reading
and eighth grader in math to make sure these standards are
met. President Clinton's national testing initiative offers a
new opportunity to widely accept national benchmarks in
reading and math against which States, school districts,
and parents can judge student performance.
Now, the proposal is completely voluntary. No student is required to
take tests. Any student can opt out, any school can opt out, any State
can opt out--a completely voluntary proposal. Then we had some
amendments offered in the other body, the House of Representatives, an
initiative, and some amendments here in the Senate, which I think will
be withdrawn, that would prohibit any kind of national testing. So
there has been discussion back and forth in recent days about, should
we prohibit any kind of national testing? I think the answer to that
should be no.
We are proposing that the National Assessment Governing Board, called
NAGB--a bipartisan, independent board--will oversee and ensure the
integrity of these national tests. NAGB was established by Congress in
1989 to independently formulate policy guidelines for the National
Assessment of Educational Progress.
I don't have any interest, again, in having the National or the
Federal Government decide that we are going to, in any way, impose
restrictions or arbitrary requirements on school districts across this
country. That is not my interest. It is my interest to provide some
leadership to see if we can't describe some kind of national
achievement levels which we aspire to reach as a country.
It is interesting. You go on a radio show, talk radio, these days--
and it has been that way for some years now--and somebody calls in and
talks about how any effort by anybody to test some sort of achievement
level is some intrusive encroachment on education. I don't think that
at all. As much as we spend on education, we ought to try to find out
what we are getting for all of this. Where are we succeeding and where
are we failing? That is what this initiative is all about. It is not an
attempt to eclipse the powers, rights, or interests of local school
boards. It is an attempt to see if we can't, all across this country,
give parents more information about what they are getting for their
education dollar and give school administrators and give other
administrators who are interested in this an evaluation of where we are
with respect to reading at the fourth grade level and mathematics at
the eighth grade level, to see whether we are reaching the goals that
we aspire to reach as a country. If we can't take that first baby step,
if we don't have the opportunity or courage to take that step, then we
are not in any way going to achieve the goals we have for this
country's education in the years ahead.
I thought this was going to be resolved last week, and I understand
it is still ricocheting around the Chamber. If it's not resolved, I am
inclined to offer a second-degree amendment to one of the first degrees
that has been noticed, which would simply say that the National
Assessment Governing Board would be the board that would be empowered
to help provide this national testing. I want us to have an affirmative
discussion and decision on this. I think that will be a very important
thing for the Senate to say with respect to this appropriations bill
because it is likely the appropriations bill coming to conference from
the House side will say, in a negative way, that they don't want
anything to do with this kind of national testing.
So I came to the floor today to say that I thought this had been
resolved last week, and it has not been. If it is not resolved soon, I
would like to offer an amendment. Senator Bingaman has one noticed. If
that is not offered, I will probably offer a second degree, and we
should have a vote on this issue. This country can do better in
education. One way to do that is to aspire to have a national
evaluation of what we are getting and what our performance levels are
at the fourth grade level for reading and at the eighth grade level for
mathematics.
I yield the floor.
Mr. GORTON addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I may speak
for up to 10 minutes as in morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________